Joy Quitler will start. do you care?

[tpaulus_2]

Whatever you gotta tell yourself.

I'm just glad we got Stafford instead. We came really close to trading for Cutler that off season... talk about dodging a bullet!

 

[Rob]

I think Cutler's problem (one of his many problems) is he doesn't show he's in pain. Is he incredibly strong to stay straight-faced through what usually causes NFL players to roll around in pain? Or is he faking? He walks off the field with a sprained MCL like he stubbed his toe?

Matthew Stafford can lead us to the promised land.

 

[ChicagoIrish]

Hey, damnit! Leave Jay Cutler alone!

 

[LPinSLC]

Hey, damnit! Leave Jay Cutler alone!

Haha love the avi

 

[ChicagoIrish]

Haha love the avi

Thanks man.

Just Jay showing his sensitive side, that's all.

 

[tpaulus_2]

Gotta be careful on this board Kreton when you're offering an opinion on anything since its always interpreted as a fact.

Always state the fact that cant be argued. Just add ", he played well enough for his team to win" on to the end of your post and now its a fact. Have fun agruing that one Bears fans.

Unfortunately it's not Bears fans he's having to argue with.

Some of our own fans just can't shake that negative "pot-stirring" mentality after so many years of losing. Never mind that we went to the playoffs two seasons ago, are in great position to do it again this year, and that Stafford has been the 3rd best QB in the league this season.

Nope, not good enough apparently. Big divisional win, swept the Bears, Stafford threw 3 TDs to only 1 INT, but none of that means a damn thing, apparently, because his completion percentage wasn't high enough.

It must really suck to be wired that way and not be able to enjoy a big win like this...

 

[Naughtymax]

Cutler will be a Bear next year, minimum.

If they can't work out a deal, he will be franchised.

Until they have a dependable Plan B, he will be a Bear. A dependable Plan B, will not happen by next year.

This is very good news for the Lions. And Packers. And Vikings.

 

[tpaulus_2]

I expect neither. I expect better than 18 for 35 from a QB who's as great as the majority of our board members proclaim him to be.

Take away the two drops and three batted passes at the line and he was right at 60%, which isn't bad at all. Plus, there were two more passes that were right on target that the defense was in great position on and knocked down. All-in-all Stafford's accuracy wasn't an issue one bit.

Gotta actually watch the games, not just look at a stat line and assume Stafford had a sub-par day...

 

[Microwahevo]

Take away the two drops and three batted passes at the line and he was right at 60%, which isn't bad at all. Plus, there were two more passes that were right on target that the defense was in great position on and knocked down. All-in-all Stafford's accuracy wasn't an issue one bit.

Gotta actually watch the games, not just look at a stat line and assume Stafford had a sub-par day...

Yeah, that 60% is right in line with his career percentage.

I will say the only throw I had a huge problem with was the swing pass out to Reggie that would've converted a third down. Instead of putting some touch on it, he threw it too hard and with too micjvigan of a lead for Reggie to catch it. That and his overthrow on Calvin for the int were the only bad throws I can recall. The others, like u said, got batted down, dropped, or the D made good plays on them to break em up.

 

[tpaulus_2]

Since when are batted passes an excuse for the QB?

Since advanced analytical services like PFF started keeping track of actual QB accuracy, not just the raw numbers. They factor out throw-aways, batted passes, and drops in order to see how often the QB was putting the ball on target, because that's the stat that really matters. I don't have a PFF subscription, so I can't see where he's at now, but Stafford was tops in the league in accuracy through the first 4 weeks in the season.

A batted pass at the line is more often than not either good D-line play, or poor o-line play. Not the QBs fault.

They're counted against the QB.

Yes, on official NFL stats they're counted against his percentage. But, like I explained above, there are far more accurate statistical services out there who go beyond raw numbers to give much more realistic and meaningful stats.

And there were more than 3 or 4 bad passes that weren't batted down.

Are you really suggesting that a QB shouldn't miss more than or three or four passes all game?!

Just out of curiosity what do you think a "good" completion percentage is? I know we've got guys like Drew Brees and Peyton Manning completing over 70% of their throws, but that's historically unheard of. Also, neither of those two were doing that at 25 years old, they both have over 10 years of NFL experience on Stafford.

I think sometimes people expect much more than what is realistic out there.

I'm not saying that he sucks, or even sucked yesterday. But for all the talk of Stafford being elite, and of Cutler sucking ass, there wasn't much difference yesterday.

Except for the two more TDs that Stafford threw, you know, the ones that WON THE GAME for us.

Only someone with an agenda to push could have watched that game and thought that Cutler played as well as Stafford.

It's too bad you can't enjoy our win and division lead rather than picking fights on the board. I feel sorry for you on that one; it's a lot of fun to be able to enjoy wins without nit-picking the things we didn't do right. This aint the NCAA- there's no style points, a win is a win is a win.

And on that note I'm going to return to my regularly scheduled enjoyment of our team.

 

[Kreton]

Take away the two drops and three batted passes at the line and he was right at 60%, which isn't bad at all. Plus, there were two more passes that were right on target that the defense was in great position on and knocked down. All-in-all Stafford's accuracy wasn't an issue one bit.

Gotta actually watch the games, not just look at a stat line and assume Stafford had a sub-par day...

Honestly I think a sign of greatness is when you throw for 200 something yards, 3 TDs, only 1 INT, beat a division rival on the road and it is considered "subpar". That says a lot about how good Stafford is. Some guys thats a great day, but Stafford it is subpar.

 

[Thruthefog]

Yeah, that 60% is right in line with his career percentage.

I will say the only throw I had a huge problem with was the swing pass out to Reggie that would've converted a third down. Instead of putting some touch on it, he threw it too hard and with too micjvigan of a lead for Reggie to catch it. That and his overthrow on Calvin for the int were the only bad throws I can recall. The others, like u said, got batted down, dropped, or the D made good plays on them to break em up.

Glad someone finally mentioned the swing pass to Bush. Those are the passes I wish he would clean up. Seen him miss those when the receiver is in a lot of space. This particular one was on the drive before the last TD drive. Would have picked up a first down and possibly made the win quite a bit easier.

I know it's hard to tone down a cannon, but if he learns to make those throws, he's top five.

 

[Quackerjacked]

If he isn't top five of rightnow who is? I've got Brady Breed Manning Rodgers. Brady is in there purely on past accomplishment. I think Rome and Rivers are the only guess in contention for it. Don't tell me Matt Ryan is cause I'll just have to shit my pants in protest.

 

[Quackerjacked]

I really hate posting from my phone

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

Don't tell me Matt Ryan is cause I'll just have to shit my pants in protest.

You'll get no arguement from me. Ryan has been absolutely awful. That and I hate protesters, especially ones with shit in their pants.

I'm on record as saying I dont think that Stafford falls into the elite category (not yet anyways) but I dont understand the debate about his completion % last weekend. Yes he missed some passes that he shouldnt have (one of the things I personally would like to see him get better on) but he also made some great throws (see our last TD for an example).

Whether you think he had a good game or a bad game the one undeniable truth is that he played well enough for the Lions to win. That's good enough for me every week and no matter what his stats might be if this team is winning thats what matters.

 

[Wazmankg]

Rivers would be #5. Romo just screws up too much in critical situations, but his numbers are much better than Staff's over time. If we're taking a quick snapshot in time today, then Staff is on the fringe of the top 5... and as for Brady, for 1 game I'll still take him over Staff. I agree with Thru, too. He needs to hit quit missing that little swing pass. He should put that where it can be caught at least 9 out of 10 times. Can't have everything, but with Bush in the backfield that little touch pass is pretty important.

 

[Microwahevo]

I'll just have to shit my pants in protest

You are just waiting for someone to to say Ryan bc you ALREADY shit your pants. Am I right?

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

Rivers would be #5. Romo just screws up too much

Quaker.....is there any chance you would shit your pants over Rivers at #5? I hope not, and not because I dont think Rivers belongs at #5 (I personally think there are several guys you could make the arguement for at #5, including Stafford) I just really dont want you to shit your pants.

Wasnt there a South Park episode on "britches" that were being treated badly? I think that had to do with excessive farting. Actually I think they were farting as a form of music or something like that. Somebody here had to have seen that and know what I'm talking about.

 

[tpaulus_2]

Glad someone finally mentioned the swing pass to Bush. Those are the passes I wish he would clean up. Seen him miss those when the receiver is in a lot of space. This particular one was on the drive before the last TD drive. Would have picked up a first down and possibly made the win quite a bit easier.

I know it's hard to tone down a cannon, but if he learns to make those throws, he's top five.

I also agree on the touch passes. I was a RB in high school and practiced at RB in college (never actually played), and those wheel routes are very hard to get your hands on a flat, hard throw. Basically you're swinging out there at bout 80% of full speed to set up the defense, and some touch on the ball makes it a lot easier to set up the run after the catch. Stafford looks like he's expecting Bush at full speed in that scenario and is gunning it out there like it's a slant route or whatnot.

With the nature of the wheel route a RB wants the ball lofted out in front of him so he can accelerate into the catch and put the DB in a tricky spot. Being able to change speed on that route is crucial to make the safety have to change his angle, and there's no way to change speeds if Stafford can't take a little off the throw...

 

[Thruthefog]

I doubt that anyone here would argue with you over 'Matty No Dice'. If it isn't clear that his WRs make him servicable, then you obviously aren't high enough.

Also just as obvious, is that your protest methods differ greatly from my own.